WHAT PART OF LIFE INSPIRES THIS POEM? "A SUPEMARKET IN CALIFONIA"

The situation is wandering through a large Supermarket in California. We can trace the poem back to Ginsburg's mentor Walt Whitman. Whitman envisoned a world of nature where exists in harmony with man. The supermarket seems to be the opposite, with its depictions of domesticated life symbolized by food placed out of its natural context. He opens by setting the scene: he is walking down a street, under trees and a full moon, having “thoughts” of Walt Whitman. For Ginsberg, the setting is important here. He feels pulled by two sides of life, one represented by the urban landscape of Berkeley and the Bay Area, the second is the natural world symbolized by the trees and the moon. These symbols remind him of Whitman, who sought to find a truer world and identity in nature. Much of this excerpt is taken right from the GradeSaver Site. Please check it out in the source link below.